The Collected Works of Daniel Loeb, Part I

This week’s New Yorker has a breezy piece about the populist approach of Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager at Third Point LLC. Mr. Loeb is fond of writing Mencken-esque screeds to CEOs and others who are depressing his fund’s alpha.
The following exchange is mentioned but not reprinted in the New Yorker piece, but it was emailed around quite widely. It isn’t a typical Loeb-ian bit of writing, but it is a wildly entertaining email exchange between Loeb and a would-be Third Point hedge fund employee from the U.K. — one that goes, well, slightly off-kilter:

From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 22, 2005
Daniel, thanks for calling earlier today. Enclosed is my CV for your review. I look forward to following up with you when you have more time.
Best regards, Alan.
———————-
From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005
What are your three best current European ideas?
———————-
From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005
Daniel, I am sorry but it does not interest me to move forward in this way.
If you wish to have a proper discussion about what you are looking to accomplish in Europe, and see how I might fit in, fine. Lesson One of dealing in Europe: Business is not conducted in the same informal manner as in the U.S.
Best regards, Alan.
———————-
From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005
One idea would suffice.
We are an aggressive, performance-oriented fund looking for bloodthirsty competitive individuals, who show initiative and drive, to make outstanding investments.
This is why I have built Third Point into a $3bn (£1.6bn) fund with average net returns of 30% over 10 years. We find most Brits are a bit set in their ways and prefer to knock back a pint at the pub and go shooting on weekends rather than work hard. Lifestyle choices are important, and knowing one’s limitations with respect to dealing in a competitive environment is too. That is Lesson One at my shop. It is good that we learned about this incompatibility early in the process, and I wish you all the best in your career in traditional fund management.
———————-
From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005
Daniel, I guess your reputation is proved correct. I have not been in traditional fund management for more than 11 years. I did not achieve the success I have by knocking back a pint, as you say. I am aggressive, and I do love this business.
I am half-American and half-French, and having spent more than half my life on this side of the pond I think I know a little something about how one conducts business in the U.K. and Europe.
There are many opportunities in the U.K. and Europe, shareholder regard is only beginning to be accepted and understood. However, if you come here and handle it in the same brash way you have in the U.S., I guarantee you will fail. Things are done differently here. Yes, place in society still matters, where one went to school etc. It will take tact and patience (traits you obviously do not have) to succeed in this arena. Good luck! Alan.
———————-
From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005
Well, you will have plenty of time to discuss your “place in society” with the other fellows at the club. I love the idea of a French/English unemployed guy, whose fund just blew up, telling me that I am going to fail.
At Third Point, like the financial markets in general, “one’s place in society” does not matter at all. We are a bunch of scrappy guys from diverse backgrounds (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc.) who enjoy outwitting pompous asses, like yourself, in financial markets globally.
Your “inexplicable insouciance” and disrespect is fascinating; it must be a French/English aristocratic thing. I will be following your “career” with great interest.
I have copied Patrick so that he can introduce you to people who might be a better fit. There must be an insurance company or mutual fund out there for you. Dan Loeb.
———————-
From: Alan Lewis
To: Daniel Loeb
March 28, 2005
Hubris.
———————-
From: Daniel Loeb
To: Alan Lewis
March 28, 2005
Laziness.

Read the whole thing (RTWT) and weep with laughter !From Infectious Greed: The Collected Works of Daniel Loeb, Part I.: QUOTEThis week’s New Yorker has a breezy piece about the populist approach of Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager…

A most interesting piece.
I made the (unforgivable) mistake of
investing in two of Daniel Loeb’s targets:
Salton and Star Gas Partners. It is too bad
that Loeb’s literary talents do not extend to
stock picking.

Loeb is obvoiusly enjoying himself taking shots at Lewis.
Unfortunately, having worked extensively on both sides of “the pond”, I can tell you that Lewis is absolutely right as far as the additional talents required to be successfull in doing any kind of business in Europe. this almost always calls for a European partner or representative.
By the way, a lot of Brits still do their deals over long drawn out alcoholic meals that make you absolutely crazy. Lazy, maybe not. Taxing, definitely.

Daniel: Get back to us after you try doing business on the other side of “the pond” without an English or European Partner or representative. Without one, they will eat you for lunch and still have an room for dessert and a bottle of port at their “club”.

I just looked up my name in a search engine and found this smug c***-sucker. Greed may be one aspect to the culture shared by businessmen like this, but something else is missing. I can’t imagine an individual who’s ever cultivated and great beauty placing so much of their self worth on showing up some other rich prick. That exchange reads like a high school debate team (and if your high school had one, try to remember what kinds of kids were usually members). He doesn’t deserve the name Daniel Loeb. And his middle name and better not be Jacob.

Loeb is a first class a**-wipe! His money, power, and cruelty won’t fulfill him, and deep inside he knows it. He’ll get his due eventually. Lewis was smart; better to be unemployed than to work for an abusive prick.

I am on the other side of the big pond, in Asia. And why one would worry about the dead continent when Asia is here is beyond me.
I run family money over here and while my boss would fire my fat ass for paying a hedgie, (I had better make the picks), there is little doubt that Loeb is the kind of guy that wins over here.
White face is a white face over here, and what your school was means nothing compared to how much you made them last quarter.
Although it is an open question if Loeb could browbeat any Asian CEO’s and family owners as I think that would get you nowhere quick with most of the tycoons in HKG and Taiwan.

It is truly amazing to read about the how lazy and stupid people are. They rather have their fathers pay for a school for them so that they can hide behind some expensive college’s logo and beg for jobs. These people have nothing but rich parents. Do you really think that they are smarter because their parents have money? They can’t survive without handouts.
People like Dan, now there is a survivor. I love his mentality of finding bloodthirsty, hungry and driven people to work for you. They will get the job done and do it 100% better than some snob out of UK or France.

America and England, two nations divided by a common language…
still it would be amusing to see what Mr Loeb will do when he finds out a million US is about the price of one of those Brit pints these days
Makes me glad I’m from NZ… we just have snooty Elves and Lazy Hobbits to deal with

America and England, two nations divided by a common language…
still it would be amusing to see what Mr Loeb will do when he finds out a million US is about the price of one of those Brit pints these days
Makes me glad I’m from NZ… we just have snooty Elves and Lazy Hobbits to deal with